ENG vs IND: India is all set to take on the English squad on their own home soil. The team has been performing impressively well in the past few months and their successful Commonwealth series was a mark of their phenomenal side. Harmanpreet Kaur has now taken over the team as a captain in all three formats. Her calm and strategy have proven to be highly beneficial for the side. She will now lead the team against a side that has undergone a few major changes in the recent week.
Coming from her Hundred game, the captain is all warmed up and ready to take on the English side. Speaking at the press conference she shared a few major things that will be followed during the tour. She spoke of the English side, especially in the light that they are without an experienced captain. Heather Knight is on a leave after her hip surgery and with Nat Sciver resting, there is no one as of yet leading the team’s ODI side.
Speaking of which Harmanpreet said, “They are a very good side and if we wish to defeat them, we have to play very good cricket. They have given us good time to prepare and we are now looking in good shape. It is only important now to stay in the moment. Take the right decisions and calculate the risks. If you play good cricket, you will definitely get good results.”
She admits that the confidence gained from Commonwealth will help the team further. “We have performed very well in the Commonwealth games but now it is a new start for us. England team has always done well against us and it will be challenging. Commonwealth Games has given us a lot of confidence and as a team, we are now ready. Now it is a new start, new games and we have to start from the beginning. I hope this tournament will give us confidence ahead of the World Cup coming.”
Speaking of mental health and Nat Sciver’s decision to withdraw, Harmanpreet said, “As a team we discuss a lot on all such things. Ups and downs keep happening and when things don’t go right, it is wiser to take a break than to push yourself too hard. As a team we try to help the players who feel low. We give it a lot of importance and we help the player. Last year I went through it. I played a lot of cricket this year as well from Commonwealth to Hundred and now the upcoming tournament. Even I want to take a break and it is right rather than pushing yourself too hard.”
📸📸Snapshots from #TeamIndia's training session at Durham ahead of the T20I series against England.#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/S2a2Vyjjiz
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) September 2, 2022
ENG vs IND: Team India are ready to take on England
The captain also spoke of her experience with their team’s sports psychology expert who helped them during the New Zealand team. It is great to see how mental health is gaining so much importance in these few years. She also spoke of the collateral in the team. How the upper order is able to start but the middle order falls inefficient to finish the game. The incorporation of two new middle-order batters will certainly help the team.
Harmanpreet Kaur said, “We want to clarify our middle order. We want to identify the zones where we can play risk-free cricket. There are times when after getting good runs on board we try to push ourselves for even more. Sometimes you need to show patience and rotate the strike. Running hard between the wickets, we need to work on that and we are working. We are working on a lot of areas. We will certainly keep working and slowly the results shall come.”
The Captain also praised Dayalan Hemalatha and spoke as to how her addition to the squad for the ENG vs IND series is estimated to bring in change especially in the middle overs.
“Every game she is playing really well. Her performance in the domestic has been great and I would like to praise her for the responsibility she took. I played for Indian railways and I know what type of pressure is there. It is the biggest game in the domestic and every day you have to win. There are no excuses and the way she is going and winning the games especially when you have the pressure that always gives you a lot of confidence. I have trust in her and when you have a lot of runs on board it will always give you that confidence.”
She also spoke of Kiran Navgire who has been added alongside Hemalatha. “KP has done really well in the domestics. She was the highest run-getter and even in the Women’s T20 challenge, the way she played the innings was outstanding to watch. We are working on these batters and we are hoping, whenever they get a chance, they will bring what the team is expecting.”
